Caroline and the Con Artist
by Eliza-81
Summary: Caroline instantly falls in love with a painting she sees at an exhibition but is the artist just as easy to love as his work?
1. chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Have a second date with that sailor, watch 'the Bold and the Beautiful', take a face mask, go shopping…." Annie summed up, ticking off the various topics on her fingers as she wandered around the Greenwood gallery with Caroline.  
Caroline kept turning her head, wanting to see as much as possible, not knowing where to look first. Annie just glanced around the room, not understanding what the fuss was about.  
Caroline sighed with mock annoyance.  
"Annie will you stop it now? I know there're plenty of other things you could be doing right now, but you agreed to come, so try to enjoy it a little."

"Agreed?" Annie scoffed, ignoring Caroline's request, "You made me!"

"It's good for you to be exposed to some culture every now and again. Didn't your parents ever try to interest you in things like this?" Caroline asked.  
When she received no reply she glanced over her shoulder because Annie stood still and was now staring at her as though Caroline had asked her to do a cartwheel or something.  
"Never mind…" Caroline smiled. She hooked an arm through Annie's and they walked on. They passed several other paintings, Caroline pointlessly trying to interest Annie in them. As they entered the second room, Caroline suddenly froze, staring at something across the room.

"What?" Annie asked, slightly annoyed, knowing another boring, politically correct answer would follow.

"Annie, that painting over there….it's beautiful" she breathed in awe. Before Annie had a chance to respond, Caroline rushed over to the other side of the room, dragging Annie with her.  
When they reached it, Caroline marveled at it as though it was the world's biggest diamond. Meanwhile, Annie tilted her head and squinted her eyes but no matter what she tried, to her it just looked like a few splotches of paint on a canvas. But for argument's sake she decided to not start a new discussion about it.  
"This is gorgeous, Annie. I HAVE to buy this, no matter what!" Caroline exclaimed enthusiastically.

Annie chuckled.  
"'No matter what?'" she repeated as she leaned forward to study the price tag under the painting. "Are you sure? Have you seen how much this one is?"

Caroline shrugged. "Well…yes but that's art, it's always expensive. It's one of a kind after all."

"I sure hope so" Annie muttered under her breath, "What's it called anyway?"

Caroline studied the small brass plate under the painting.  
"'Ambiguous Simplicity'" she read out loud. She gave an impressed little nod. "Sounds deep."

"What does _that_ mean?" Annie said, making a face.

"Well I dunno..," Caroline replied, a bit uneasily, "I'm sure there's some hidden meaning in this painting, if we just look closely enough..."

Just as both women were studying the colorful canvas, a voice behind them caused them to jump and they quickly turned around.  
"Like this one, huh?" a tall, blond-haired man queried. He was wearing a tuxedo and he thoughtfully sipped from a glass of champagne.

Caroline smiled at him, then looked at the painting again.  
"Yeah, I really do, I love these colors" she added, tracing the various curves of paint with her index finger.  
"I dunno, I somehow find it intriguing."

"Intriguing, huh?" the man echoed, impressed.

"Yeah" Caroline nodded, "I'm thinking of buying it, actually."

"If it weren't so damn expensive" Annie dryly added.

The man shrugged, taking another sip of champagne before he spoke again.  
"It's expensive, but it's worth it, a lot of hard work has been put into in."

Annie crossed her arms and looked at him.  
"And you would know this because…..?" she started defiantly, feeling an instant dislike for this man. She had absolutely nothing to base her opinion on, maybe it was just that hideous painting, she didn't know. But either way, he seemed snotty and he had an air of arrogance about him. She just knew their personalities would clash.

Sensing her dislike for him, he stuck his chin in the air.  
"I painted it…" he finished, mimicking her tone of voice.

Taken off-guard, Annie's arms dropped to her sides and Caroline's eyes grew slightly in size.  
"You painted this? You're the artist?" Caroline asked.

He nodded, unable to hide his pride over this revelation and though he tried to stop it, a small smile crept across his lips.  
"Yup. In person."

"Wow," Caroline breathed.  
"Oh, um…I'm Caroline Duffy" she then said, quickly extending her hand to him as though her mother had suddenly reminded her to mind her manners.

"Richard Karinsky" he introduced himself.

Annie followed Caroline's example and they then all looked at the painting again.

"Well," Caroline broke the silence, "Since I got to meet the artist, it's suddenly a bargain!"  
She ignored the flirtatious undertone in her voice since she had no idea where it came from all of a sudden. She pushed it aside by exclaiming, "I'll buy it!"

Richard's eyes lit up.  
"You're going to buy it? For real?" he beamed.  
When Caroline nodded, he placed his half-empty glass on the tray of a passing waiter and stepped a bit closer. His small smile got a little bigger.  
"That means I've made my first sale. Ever" he declared softly.  
"You know Miss Duffy, you have no idea how much this means to me!"  
His smile had grown from ear-to-ear as he took Caroline's hand in both of his and shook it with enthusiasm, nearly causing Caroline's arm to pop out of its socket.

"It's my pleasure, it's beautiful" Caroline replied coyly when he loosened his grasp on her hand. Their eyes locked for a moment and they held on to each other's hand just a beat too long. The atmosphere had suddenly changed and made it Annie feel invisible. Neither Richard nor Caroline seemed aware that she was there and she was just about to break the awkwardness when Caroline cleared her throat.  
"Well, I better go find the owner then. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Karinsky."

He nodded and they walked off to the next room where the sculpture exhibition was held.  
"Well," Annie said, "You certainly made him happy, you're the very first person to buy one of his paintings."  
She briefly thought of adding 'no wonder' but she didn't want to kill Caroline's happy mood.

"Yeah I know," Caroline responded, still a bit dazzled by his reaction.  
"I can't think of a more perfect situation. I mean, I get a beautiful painting and he makes his first sale. Everybody wins!"

"Mmm that depends," Annie replied doubtfully, "Are you going to hang it in the living room? 'Cause that would mean I'd have to look at it every time I come over."

Caroline playfully hit her friend's upper arm as they moved to the next room to admire the sculptures exhibited there.

Richard beamed with pride as he watched the redhead and her friend walk over to the sculpture exhibition in the next room.  
"Caroline…" he muttered, loving the way her name sounded on his lips. He reluctantly tore his eyes away from her and focused on what had just happened.  
He couldn't believe he'd made his first sale!  
He'd always cared where his paintings would end up if someone finally bought one. He had a very strong connection with each and every one of them and he was happy that his painting was in good hands. He couldn't have wished for a warmer, kinder person to buy it. _Or more beautiful,_ his brain reminded him.

His joy immediately washed away as guilt flooded over him. If he had known about Caroline before…  
He resisted the urge to run after her and tell her everything. If he didn't come clean he'd never have a chance with her.  
"As if…" he scoffed.

The clicking of high heels and the spicy scent of perfume pulled him back to reality.  
"Everything okay here?" Ms. Greenwood asked. One hand was resting on her hip, the other was loosely wrapped around a glass of champagne.

He looked over his shoulder again as the internal battle in his head went on. This was his last chance to set things straight. His insecurity took over when Ms. Greenwood scraped her throat, trying to get his attention.  
Caroline would never be interested in him anyway, he reasoned. Besides, what was done, was done he rationalized quickly before turning his attention to the gallery owner.  
"It sure is, I just made my first sale!" he exclaimed.

"Really? That's wonderful Richard! To whom?"

"Her" he said, pointing to Caroline and Annie who were standing by a sculpture. "She's looking for you actually."  
Caroline was pointing out details in the sculpture while Annie was shaking her head and indicating her watch.  
He smirked slightly, wondering how two such different people ever became friends.

The woman glanced at Richard's painting, then arched a carefully plucked eyebrow at him.  
"Well, at least you sold it, huh? Congratulations!"  
She held up her glass to toast to his success only to find that he didn't have a drink.  
"Here," she said, grabbing a fresh glass of champagne and thrusting it in his hand. "I'll go over after we've had a toast. May you become a very successful artist!"

He cast one final glance over his shoulder but Caroline and her friend were nowhere to be seen. He pushed the feelings of guilt far back to a corner of his mind, then smiled brightly at the woman across from him.  
"Hear, hear"  
They then clinked their glasses together to celebrate his first sale.

A few days later, a yellow cab pulled up in front of the gallery. After a moment, Annie and Caroline got out, making their way over to the entrance, Caroline nearly skipping with excitement because they were picking up her new painting.  
Once inside, they walked through the long, beige hallways until they found their way.  
When they entered the room though, it was nothing Caroline had expected. A handful of people had gathered there, everyone shouting and talking loudly, raising their voices to be heard.

Caroline hesitantly approached the group, wondering if she was in the wrong room after all. She craned her neck to see who everybody was talking to, to find the gallery owner, a thin woman in her mid-thirties and a guy she'd never seen before standing there. The gallery owner's face was red with heat and there were a few beads of sweat running down her forehead. The guy next to her was furiously shaking his head and holding up his hands in defence as they were talking to the crowd.  
"Look, this is all I can tell you right now. I understand you're mad, but there's nothing else I can do for the moment. You'll hear from me when I know more. Sorry people."

The group angrily turned around, cussing at the owner and some threatening with lawyers. They nearly ran over Caroline as they furiously made their way out of the room. Caroline then carefully approached the owner, still in complete confusion about what was going on. She found the owner rubbing her forehead, talking to her companion in a high-pitched voice.  
"Excuse me?" she interrupted them, "Um…what's going on? I'm here to pick up my painting. I bought it last week, 'Ambiguous Simplicity' by Richard Karinsky?"

The owner sighed.  
"Well, join the club."

"What do you mean?" Annie asked who had now joined her friend.

"What I mean," the owner sighed again, "Is the same thing I told those other people, that it's gone, he's gone, everything's gone!"

"What?" Caroline raked a hand through her hair, scrunching up her forehead in utter confusion.  
"I don't understand, what happened? Were you robbed?"

"Well, sort of. But not just me. You too and those other people too. This guy, Richard Karinsky, apparently sold the same painting to all these people you just saw. Everyone already paid for it of course and now he's gone with the painting and the money."

"But how is that possible?" Annie asked, "I was there when you sold the painting to Caroline."

The woman nodded.  
"Yes, but after that he apparently sold it to those other people without me noticing. And before I could find out, he took off with it. I'm sorry Miss, but you've been conned."

With that, she turned on her heel and she and her companion left the room, leaving Caroline and Annie to stare at each other in shock.


	2. chapter 2

"Conned?" Caroline repeated slowly as though she was learning a foreign language.  
"B-but that's impossible, he seemed like such a nice guy!"

"Yeah, that's why they're so good at what they do, they come off all truthful and honest while in the meantime, they're lying straight to your face" Annie explained.  
"Ugh, I knew there was something fishy about this guy, I should've trusted my instincts!

Caroline shook her head.  
"No, Annie. I refuse to believe that. I looked him straight in the eye when he was telling me about his first sale. He's not a con, I'm positive."

Annie chuckled.  
"Um…sorry hon, but you're not exactly the best judge of character. Besides, you don't even know the guy, how can you tell if he's trustworthy? C'mon, let's find the owner and see what to do next."

They took off in the same direction the gallery owner had disappeared into. It was pretty easy to find her. The faint smell of smoke led directly to the last room in the hallway. Through the window in the door they could see the gallery owner sitting behind her desk, talking on the phone.

"Maybe we should come back some other time," Caroline suggested, a little hesitant about going in.   
"She seems pretty preoccupied."

"Ugh, please."   
Annie pushed Caroline aside. 

"You want your money back or not?"   
She then determinately pushed open the door and barged in with Caroline in her wake.

She obviously startled the owner who was still on the phone, a cigarette in the corner of her mouth, her feet on the table leaf. She quickly swung her legs off the desk, mumbled something into the phone, then hung up.   
"Ladies, what can I do for you?" she asked. She took a long drag from her cigarette, then stubbed it out into the overfilled ashtray on her desk.

"Hi, remember us?" Annie started sarcastically, "Perhaps you can give us a bit more of an explanation instead of walking off like that?"

"You're right, it's just that I'm trying to save my gallery from going bankrupt" Ms. Greenwood apologized. 

"Well there has to be a way for Caroline to get her money back? I mean, surely you have insurance for something like this?"

"Sit down please."  
She gestured to the faded brown chairs that were placed in front of the desk. 

Annie and Caroline reluctantly took their seats as Ms. Greenwood rounded her desk and sat down on the table leaf, crossing one long leg over the other.   
She stuck another cigarette between her lips but didn't light it.  
"Look Miss, all I can tell you is the same thing I told those other people, I do have insurance for this, of course I do. I contacted them straight away when I found out Mr. Karinsky had disappeared. But the insurance company estimated the value of the painting quite a bit lower."

"How much lower?" Caroline asked, alarmed. 

The owner raked a hand through her dry, blonde hair that had obviously seen too much peroxide.   
"All the way lower."

"So, what does this mean?" Annie asked.

"That they'll only pay the estimated amount, nothing more. Other than this, there's nothing you can do apart from reporting it to the police."   
She lit the cigarette and took a drag as though to say 'that's the end of it'.

Caroline got up and carefully stepped forward a little.  
"So, you're telling me there's no way I can get the total amount back? But that was pretty much all of my savings…"   
She tailed off, frantically trying to get her thoughts into order that were now racing through her head.

"Sorry" the owner replied, blowing out the word along with a blue puff of smoke.

Annie walked to the door and Caroline slowly followed.  
"Thanks" she said softly, her expression downcast.

"Anytime" the owner smiled.   
"If I hear anything else, I'll give you a call."

Eventually, Caroline and Annie left the gallery. Caroline's mood had turned around completely now that everything began to sink in.  
An enormous amount of money, gone like that…   
She tried to take in what that meant. No vacation this year, no new clothes for a while, no 'cookie jar' of money for a rainy day, in case the fridge would break or something…  
But the money wasn't even the worst thing. The fact that she'd been lied to hurt the most. The fact that this guy had looked her straight in the eye and won her trust by telling her some sad story about how this was his first sale ever and how much it meant to him…  
What a load of crap. 

"What a jerk" Annie stated once the door fell closed behind them, not sure if she was talking about Richard or the gallery owner.

"You were right, Annie. I guess you can't trust anyone anymore these days. And here I was, believing there was some good left in people. Boy, was I stupid."

Annie was quick to place an arm around Caroline's shoulders and pulled her a little closer.   
"Hey hon, this is not your fault. There was no way you could've known. And you can't give up trusting people because of this. The fact that you think positively and see the good in everyone is what makes you such a wonderful person."

Caroline smiled up at her friend.  
"Thanks Annie, I suppose you're right. And I guess I'll get over the money thing. So I'll just be a little tight for a few months. I make a decent living, I'll earn it back."

"Now you're talking!" Annie smiled back, then threw up her arm to hail them a cab.

--------

"Look, Miss….um,…." the policeman studied the forms in front of him, "Duffy..? Look, there's not much we can do if this is all you have for us. Isn't there anything else you can tell us about this man?"

Caroline sighed and looked around the tiny office. It really seemed that her money was gone for good. Going to the police seemed like such a good idea at first but once they knew she could only describe the man and give them the name he'd given her, they became skeptic straight away.  
"Well, can't you ask the gallery owner, Ms. Greenwood? She must know more" Caroline replied helplessly. She looked at Annie who shrugged in response as a sign that she didn't know either.

"Miss Duffy," the man replied, making no attempt to hide his exasperation, "Miss Greenwood contacted us straight away when she learned about the fraud. We already checked the address she gave us but he doesn't live there anymore. It seems he's fled already. Of course we'll keep an eye out but I would also advise you to be a little more careful in the future."

"That's it??" Annie exclaimed, "My friend here lost most of her savings and all you can say is 'we'll keep an eye out?'" 

"I'm afraid that's all we can do. Of course we'll look for Mr. Karinsky, if that's his real name. But since we don't know anything about his whereabouts…"  
He didn't finish his sentence

Annie glared at him, then dragged Caroline out of her seat and out of the office.   
"You'll hear from us when we know more" the officer called after them, but they didn't hear it anymore. Annie was very upset about the whole thing while Caroline tried to find a way to deal with it all. Of course she was angry but what good was it to stay mad?   
But no matter how much she rationalized the situation, it kept gnawing at her.   
It wasn't because she lost the money but because her trust had been violated.   
Her mother had warned her when she left for New York that she was too friendly and trusting but she always considered that a good trait. Not anymore…  
Annie convinced her to go on with her life though and she pretty much forgot about the whole thing. The only times she thought of it was whenever she'd receive a bank statement, reminding her that a large part of her money was gone. And it still stung when she passed the Greenwood gallery. In both cases, she quickly pushed the pain aside, telling herself that it was all in the past and that she'd be more careful from now on. 

One day, Caroline was working quietly at her desk when Annie walked in, wearing her Cats jacket, her purse dangling from her right shoulder.  
"Hey Care, are you busy?" she asked superfluously because Caroline was bent over her work, repeatedly raking a hand through her hair in frustration.

"Yes, very" Caroline replied without looking up.   
"You wouldn't by any chance feel like coloring a few panels, would you? I'm totally swamped, I don't know how to get everything done."

"Well, actually, I came by to see if you wanted to join me for lunch."

Caroline looked up. She was wearing her glasses and the color of her cheeks was very similar to color of her hair after the intense work she'd been doing.  
"I'd love to Annie but like I said, I'm way too busy. Besides, I can't afford outdoor lunches anymore, remember?"

"My treat" Annie offered, taking Caroline's elbow. 

Caroline looked from Annie to the stack of panels and back.   
"I don't know, Annie. I really have a lot to do."

"So, why don't you get an assistant or something? It's not good for you to work that hard" Annie suggested.

Caroline gave Annie a knowing look.  
"'Why'? Well maybe 'cause I can't afford to hire someone? Remember, I got conned not too long ago…?"

Annie sighed.  
"Yeah, okay so maybe that's not an option but you still deserve a break."  
She tightened her grip on her friend's elbow and started dragging her out of her seat.  
"Come on, I know you're busy but you have to eat. And you'll find that you're much more productive after a break." 

Caroline was still protesting, but Annie didn't give up until they were on their way down in the elevator, leaving Caroline with no choice other than to have lunch with her friend.

Once outside, they were chatting happily as they were looking for a place to go to for lunch. Caroline had completely forgotten about all the work she'd left waiting for her at her apartment as she was talking to Annie.

"So, do you want to go to Remo's again?" she asked, "Because I could use a break from the place. You know, I didn't want to say anything but last time, I found something suspicious floating in my soup…"   
She rambled on, not noticing that Annie was no longer walking beside her.  
"And I like Remo so I didn't say anything to him but I thought that maybe…-"   
She broke off mid-sentence when she noticed she was talking to air. She looked over her shoulder to find Annie about 30 feet behind her, glued to the sidewalk.  
"What are you doing?" Caroline called to her friend as she walked back.  
She didn't get a reply so she repeated her question once she was by her friend's side.   
"Annie, what are you doing?" she asked again, following her friend's gaze across the street, wondering what was so interesting.

"It's him" Annie finally answered, still not tearing her eyes away from whatever her gaze was fixed on. 

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked.

"It's him" Annie repeated.  
"It's the con artist."

TBC


	3. chapter 3

Chapter 3

Now Caroline knew what they were looking at, it was easy to spot him.   
He was across the road, standing on the curb. He was throwing his arm up whenever a yellow cab passed, but none of them stopped.  
Caroline gasped, she hadn't expected to ever see him again and now he was standing just across the street. The past couple of weeks she'd made up so many ways to take revenge on him if she'd ever see him again. There were so many insults she'd wanted to throw at him, but now that he was so close, she was at a complete loss as to what to do. 

  
  
"You're right, Annie. What do we do now? Call the police?" she suggested. 

Annie glanced at Caroline before directing her gaze back to the man across the street. 

  
  
"That'll take too long. He'll have gotten a cab by then. We have to do something now." With that, she left the sidewalk and started for the street. 

"What are you doing?" Caroline called after her.  
  
"I'm going over there, what does it look like? Come with me, I could use your help."  
She then turned around and started walking across the busy street, stopping every two feet to avoid getting run over by cars that sped by, only a few inches away from her. Several drivers honked their horns, a cab driver pointing to his forehead as he drove by. Annie ignored them and continued her way across the street.  
Caroline hesitated for a moment, but then followed Annie's example, receiving the same treatment from the passing cars.  
Once they had both crossed the street, they stood still between some parked cars at a small distance from the man who didn't seem to notice a thing. 

"What do we do now?" Caroline asked nervously, fidgeting nervously with her nails. This was a job for the police, what was she doing chasing a criminal herself?

"Now," Annie interrupted her thoughts, "We get your money back."  
She left Caroline with no more time to think about it because she sped off and dove on top of the unsuspecting man.   
  
"Annie!" Caroline exclaimed and ran after her. 

"What the h-" the man exclaimed in shock, swatting at whoever was attacking him.

"Thief!" Annie shouted, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders. She tried to keep her grip on him as the man was bending forward and pulling at her arms, trying to shake his attacker off of him.

"Let go!" he commanded when he still couldn't free himself.

"Annie," Caroline pleaded, carefully approaching them, "Let go, please."

"Alright" Annie sighed disappointedly and let herself slide off his back.

"What the hell was that?" the man exclaimed angrily and turned around. His expression changed immediately when he recognized the two women standing across from him.

"Oh it's you" he said softly.

"Yeah it's 'us'" Annie retorted angrily.  
"And don't even think of running away again, you owe my friend here some money." She gestured to Caroline.

Richard's eyes moved away from Annie to look at Caroline and his expression turned apologetic.  
Caroline knew she was naïve and she knew he'd tricked her before but for some reason it seemed genuine this time. But she also knew she shouldn't trust her intuition anymore and she decided to follow Annie's example.  
"You conned me" she said to him and he looked as though she'd slapped him in the face.   
"You robbed me of pretty much all of my savings and to think I trusted you!"

Annie planted her hands on her hips as she and Caroline were waiting for an explanation.  
A hand moved up to his face to cover his eyes as he bent his head in shame.   
"I know" he said, "I'm so sorry, I can't tell you how sorry I am."   
His voice wavered slightly with his last few words.

Annie wasn't impressed.  
"Sorry's not gonna pay the rent! When are you going to pay her back?" 

"I-I can't" he stammered.   
"Look, I'm terribly sorry, it's just that I've been poor all my life. Ever since I can remember I've wanted to be an artist. That's my dream and I've been struggling to make it for years and years now. I live on barely 12,000 dollars a year."   
He sighed and raked a hand through his hair as he continued, "So when I got to exhibit one of my paintings at the Greenwood gallery, it was a big chance for me. When you said you wanted to buy my painting, I was over the moon. And you really were the first person to ever buy one of my paintings," he clarified, "I didn't lie about that, you have to believe me."   
He looked down at Caroline who was listening intently and wordlessly encouraged him to go on.   
He sighed again and rolled his eyes upward, "I don't know, but it just seemed like my prayers were answered. Of course I knew it was wrong, but something in my brain just clicked and I decided that this was my chance to move out of the dump I've been living in for the past three years. The prospect of eating something other than stale bread, to pay off my student loans, buy new shoes…"  
He looked down at his feet. He was wearing dark shoes, the soles had come loose at the toe and Caroline briefly wondered if they were even waterproof.  
"It was a chance at a new life, a chance to start over. Of course I regretted it straight away, but by then it was too late already."  
He looked down at his feet again in a way that reminded Caroline of a little boy showing up for detention and she couldn't help but to feel sorry for him and maybe even forgive him. She'd been complaining about missing out on her holiday while this man didn't even have the money for new shoes...

Annie on the other hand was a lot harder to impress.  
"Ugh please," she replied with a dismissive hand-wave, "We're not looking for a movie of the week, we just want the money back."

He looked up and nodded helplessly.   
"I know, but I don't have it anymore, it's gone."   
He quickly looked away again, afraid of Annie's reaction.

"Well that leaves us with no choice but to call the police" Annie replied relentlessly.  
She pulled out her cell phone and started punching in the number.

Richard's head jerked up in shock and Caroline quickly grabbed Annie's wrist to stop her.

"Annie, hold on. I have another idea." 

Annie and Richard looked at Caroline, fully focused, both wondering what Caroline's solution could possibly be.   
"I'm a cartoonist," she explained to Richard, placing a hand over her heart.   
"Maybe you know my strip? '_Caroline in the City_'?"   
When he shook his head, she continued, "Well anyway, it's very popular and I can't seem to get everything done on my own anymore. So what I'd like to propose is the following; how about you work for me until you've paid me back? I'll just pay you enough to live on and the rest of what you'd normally earn will go to reimburse me."

Annie's eyes became wide as saucers as her jaw practically dropped to the ground. Richard's eyes simply filled with disbelief.  
"Really?" he said softly, grateful for her forgiveness. 

"Caroline!" Annie objected, pulling her friend aside until they were out of earshot.  
"Are you nuts?? Have you not learned from last time? Isn't it enough he conned you, now you want to let him into your apartment!? He could be dangerous!"

Caroline glanced over at Richard, who was giving directions to a couple of tourists while he waited for them.  
"I know, Annie. But look at him, he's hardly a ruthless criminal, is he? And I believe he's really sorry for what he did. Everyone deserves a second chance you know."

"Of course" Annie agreed, throwing up a hand for emphasis, "But do you need to let him into your apartment to do that? Why don't you just demand the painting back?"

"Because I don't want him to get away with it that easily. Besides, he might not even have it anymore. Plus, he can help me with that stack of panels. Haven't you seen how much work there's left?"

Annie didn't really mind this solution. She was inwardly jumping with joy at the prospect of never having to see the ugly thing again. She nodded.  
"Yeah, sure but what about the other people he conned?"

Caroline thought hard for a moment.   
"I've been thinking about them too. But if I inform them, they'll go straight to the police and his career will be over before it has even started. There has to be another way to reimburse them. Maybe he could have an auction for one of his other paintings, we'll figure something out."

Annie shrugged.  
"Well I still think it's a stupid idea."

"Look Annie, I'm not going to leave him alone in my apartment or anything, I can keep an eye on him all the time. It's not a permanent thing, he's just going to work for me until he's paid me back and then he's out the door again. I still don't trust him, but he doesn't seem like a bad person to me either. So now he can color those panels for me, forty hours a week."  
She grinned devilishly at Annie who mirrored this. 

"I like this evil side of you. Okay, I can see how working for you is punishment" she teased, "Maybe it's a good idea after all."

Caroline nodded, glad she'd finally managed to convince Annie. Though she wasn't entirely sure it was her evil side Annie just saw. She hadn't told her friend that she was looking forward to having him near her every day and she had neglected to tell Annie how her heart had fluttered when she'd looked up into those brown eyes again.  
But of course Annie didn't need to know all that…

When Richard showed up for work, he looked all gloomy and annoyed, his whole attitude aired his dislike for the situation. He obviously didn't want to be there. But at the same time he was careful not to open his mouth because he knew he wasn't exactly in the position to complain. And at least he got to be around Caroline every day although he didn't have the illusion that she'd be interested in him. That probably made this arrangement all the more difficult and he wished he'd be gone soon. He felt guilty straight away because his new employer was doing all she could to make him feel at home, while she really didn't have to.

"Welcome, Richard!" she exclaimed enthusiastically upon his arrival as though he'd just come back from a trip around the world. She jumped up from her seat at the desk and moved to the middle of the room.   
"Come in, take a seat. Have you eaten yet?"

"Why?" he asked, eyeing her warily as he hung up his coat, wondering why his eating habits would be any of her business. 

She was a little taken aback by his defensive reply, but immediately recovered.   
"Well, I thought we could have breakfast together, you know, get to know each other?"   
She cocked her head to the side as she regarded him for a moment, giving him time to consider the offer. She didn't want to come on too strong since he obviously scared easily.  
Instantly uncomfortable under her gaze, he moved away to what he assumed would be his side of the desk. He heard her walk to the kitchen and when he turned around, he found her rummaging through the cabinets, for the first time realizing her upbeat mood was actually nervousness.  
He found it kind of endearing as he watched her searching for something edible, trying to assume an air.

"I already ate" he stated.

She slowly closed the cabinet again.   
"Oh, I see. Well maybe we should just get started then, hm?"  
Without asking anything else, she brought over two cups of coffee and joined him at his side at the desk.  
"Let's see, this will be your workplace as you already discovered. Here are the pencils, they're organized by color scheme…." 

Her arm shot across from him, her upper arm slightly brushing his as she pointed out the pencils.  
He immediately stepped back.  
"I get it, Caroline" he retorted with an eye-roll, "I'm a trained artist, remember?"

The look of defeat and disappointment on her face was immediate but instead of putting him in his place she simply nodded.   
"You're right, I forgot I don't need to tell you these things."   
She forced a smile and went back to her side of the desk to start their first day of work together.

Despite her expectations, working with Richard never did get any easier. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought his cynical and negative behavior was in fact part of his personality rather than a result of nerves on his first day. If someone had told her a year ago she'd be working with someone like that day in, day out, she would've laughed at them and told them there was no way she'd be able to cope. But strangely enough she didn't find it as hard as it first seemed. Gradually, he started to grow on her and occasionally, he even seemed to make an effort to be nice or remotely positive for her.   
There were times when she thought he did that just for her. She always hoped he'd stay for a drink and a chat after work so she could discover more of the unique but wonderful qualities he so rarely displayed. But he never did. The second the minute-hand on her clock jumped to five 'o clock, he was out the door. The first couple of times she thought it was pretty funny and imagined it was a bit like a fairy tale, as though he'd turn into a frog after five. But for that to be true he'd have to be a prince and he certainly wasn't acting like one. In fact, it had become quite hurtful to see him rush off straight after work and she wondered if she was the only one who enjoyed their time together.  
But despite all that, he wasn't a bad person, she was sure of that. He seemed kind of sweet even though for some reason he liked to keep it a secret from the world. The only reason she'd had the privilege of occasionally seeing this side of him was thanks to her nosiness and the fact that she spent 40 hours a week with this man.   
It was quite a transition for her, she liked to talk while working and when she worked alone, she always had the radio on. Richard hadn't uttered a single word other than what was necessary in his first week. She'd begun asking him questions about his personal life but quickly found it was to no avail. She hardly ever received an answer and when she did, it clearly made his already downcast mood even gloomier.  
What worked a lot better was when she did all the talking and just had him listen. At least she thought he listened to her, she could never be sure.   
It also helped to pick topics of his interest and occasionally, it was actually possible to engage him in a conversation, even if it was about the decay of the planet.   
It seemed that when he talked, he merely did it to express his frustration about the simplest things or whine about his pay which, despite the recent raise, was still too low.   
It annoyed Caroline quite a bit to hear him complain about his salary so much. After all, he was there to pay her, not the other way around. Of course she could never tell him that, she didn't know how.   
And what was more: he was an excellent colorist. He was very precise but as a result turned in perfect panels and he got everything done in spite of his regular tardiness.  
But his immaculate work couldn't eternally make up for his everlasting negativity and it was on a Friday afternoon that the situation escalated. 

Richard took off his glasses and briefly rubbed his tired eyes before putting his glasses back on.   
"Well, " he said, placing the green pencil back in the standard between its light green and blue partners, "I'm done, I'm going home."  
He was already in the process of zipping up his portfolio and had begun his short walk to the door when Caroline looked up from her panel. A quick glance at her watch told her it was 4.17 p.m.  
She cleared her throat, knowing she'd have to do the 'boss-employee' thing, and she hated it.  
"Um, Richard…it's not five yet" she stated carefully.

Surprised, Richard glanced over his shoulder, not used to her saying anything in return when he snuck away from work early.  
"I know, but I'm done, so…."   
He didn't finish his sentence. It didn't seem worth the effort, Caroline would accept it nonetheless. He began to put on the two coats he'd been wearing to shield himself from the winter cold outside.   
Caroline swallowed, knowing her attempt at assertiveness had failed. Instead, she decided to drop it for now and be friendly rather than create even more distance between them.   
"Um…okay then Richard. I suppose if you're done…you can go. So, do you have anything fun planned for this weekend then?"

Richard made a face as he wrapped the dark scarf around his neck.   
"Hardly. As if I could even afford to make plans on what you pay me…" he muttered from under the thick fabric. He picked up his portfolio and reached for the doorknob.

Caroline's hand landed on the mahogany desk with such a force, the sound actually seemed to echo through the apartment.   
Richard was startled and jumped an inch in the air, then turned around wide-eyed to find Caroline fuming with anger.   
"That's it!" she screeched, her voice so shrill it made her vocal cords burn. She removed her hand from the desk. She didn't even feel the tingle of pain, she was too angry to care.  
She jumped up, defiantly approaching her assistant who was staring at her in shock, probably wondering what on earth possessed her.   
"I'm sick and tired of you complaining about your pay all the time, Richard! I pay you plenty and in case you'd forgotten, you're working here to pay me back so I don't even see where you find the nerve to complain!"  
Her breathing had quickened and her heart was thumping against her ribcage, both from anger and fear. She'd never flown off the handle like this and she had no idea what Richard would say.  
Richard, as it happened, didn't say anything. He seemed completely tongue-tied.  
His eyes remained fixed on hers as he slowly set down his portfolio and took one step away from the door. He pushed the scarf down a little and Caroline found herself holding her breath, anticipating his response. Would he apologize? Or would he yell back at her? She hadn't a clue, the man was so unpredictable.   
It turned out it was neither, he didn't say anything. He just kept staring at her. His expression seemed a mixture of confusion and shock.  
The silence was almost deafening and Caroline had to reluctantly admit that even him yelling at her would be better than this silence.  
She felt extremely uncomfortable and decided to speak up again.  
"So, have you got anything to say to that or are you just gonna stand there?"  
She crossed her arms in front of her chest for effect, feigning self-confidence.

He could kick himself for getting her upset. She'd given him this job so they could amicably settle his debt to her and all he'd been doing was bitch about it. He'd been telling himself to loosen up for weeks now but he just couldn't manage it. Being in her presence always made him tense and it caused him to say the exact opposite of what he meant. If he'd had a choice, he would've quit this job weeks ago. Maybe then she'd finally leave his thoughts or stop haunting his dreams. Maybe then he could forget just how beautiful she looked. She was even more beautiful when she was angry he realized as he saw her glaring at him, a couple of feet away.

"I've had it with you, Richard!" she yelled, "When I suggested this arrangement I expected, no _hoped_, you'd start thinking of this as something other than a way to pay me back. I was hoping for just a little dedication, that you would actually _care_. What was I thinking!?" she exclaimed with feigned wonder. 

"No, that's not it at all. It's just that…-" he replied desperately, struggling to find the right words. He wanted to say something that would undo all of this but he knew it was impossible. 

"Save it, Richard" she interjected. "It's obvious you don't give a damn about the strip _or_ me!"

His head jerked up in shock. Was that what she thought? That he didn't care? After the way he'd been acting, that wasn't very surprising. But how was he going to convince her otherwise? He could hardly tell her how he felt about her and he couldn't really reason with her either, he couldn't get a word in edgeways.  
"Caroline, that's not true…."

"I don't want to hear it Richard!" she yelled, not allowing him to say anything in return.   
"I just can't believe I was so wrong about you! In that gallery you seemed all sweet and sincere, you were so passionate about your work…  
I was actually starting to fall for you, you know that?! And now you turn out to be this enormous…-"

Her words were smothered by his lips on hers. She froze for a split second but then her body melted into his and she kissed him back. She completely forgot about her anger as her feelings took over from her thoughts. She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer.  
Richard was amazed at his decision to take such drastic measures but it had seemed the best way to get those crazy ideas out of her head and convince her that he did care.  
He was grateful that he finally got to kiss her, he'd wanted to do this since the first time he saw her, when she was admiring his painting at the gallery. He'd never had the nerve to act on his feelings but when he'd just heard her admitting how she felt about him he was unable and unwilling to hold back his feelings any longer.   
Caroline was so overwhelmed with surprise that it took her a while to get her thoughts back in order.  
When she did, she pulled away, keeping her eyes closed. His face was still only inches from hers and she could feel his warm breath on her mouth. She carefully opened her eyes to find him smiling down at her.  
She didn't know what to do or say, her thoughts were racing through her head and her heart was still pounding from anger. Or the kiss, she wasn't sure which.   
She slowly took one step away from him, hesitated briefly, then slapped him hard across the cheek.


	4. chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Oww!"  
Richard's hand flew up to cover his cheek. He rubbed slightly to alleviate the pain.  
Once he was past the initial shock he looked at her, eyes wide.  
Her anger had returned and she was looking defiantly at him, arms folded across her chest.  
"Does this mean I'm fired?" he asked carefully.

"You wish" she scoffed and turned away from him, looking out the window.  
"Is that what you were trying to achieve? Bad luck, you still have a debt to pay or had you forgotten about that already?"

"No of course not."  
He shook his head, his hand still covering his cheek. She couldn't see it, her eyes were still fixed on the New York skyline.  
"But Caroline, am I missing something here? I mean….why would you say that after what just happened? Why did you slap me?"

She turned around again, her arms dropping to her sides.  
"Ugh, please, Richard. We both know you only kissed me because I just admitted my feelings for you and you were looking for an easy way to settle the argument."

He shook his head vigorously.  
"That is not true. How can you even think that? Caroline, I'm not going to apologize for kissing you, if that's what you're getting at."

She looked a little taken aback by this statement.  
"You're not?"

"No, of course not! Why would I? I meant it! And besides, you kissed me back."

"No I didn't" she lied poorly, the red spots on her cheeks turning a deeper shade of crimson.

"Yes you did. Look Caroline, we can argue about this all day but we both know what happened."

"Okay then, so what if I did? You're expecting me to believe you were sincere?"

"Yes, I was. How can you even doubt that?"

He scrunched up his forehead in disbelief.  
"Caroline, I think you're amazing, I've thought so since the moment I first saw you. I would never lie about something like that."

She eyed him warily.  
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe you, Richard. You conned me once already, who's to say this isn't some sort of trick as well?"

"Oh for God's sake!" he exclaimed, "All I did was swap the stupid price tags, can't you get over that already?!"

Caroline stared at him as though he'd just told her he'd joined the circus. She rubbed her eyes.  
"What are you talking about? You sold the same painting to several people and then took off with it…..right?" she added hesitantly.

Richard's expression was now a perfect reflection of Caroline's. Both were utterly confused, their foreheads scrunched up. Both mouths were slightly open for they were unable to decide whether to fire another load of questions or wait for the other person to clarify.  
Richard eventually spoke.  
"Hold on a sec, you're saying you never had my painting??"

"Well duh!" Caroline retorted.  
"Why else would I accuse you of conning me? Why else are you working here?!"

"Well because I changed the price tags, not because I took it. In fact, I've been wondering why I didn't see it here. I figured you didn't display it because you were still mad. But I didn't take it. Why would I? I just felt that it was worth a lot more than Ms. Greenwood wanted to sell it for."

"Hold on" Caroline interjected, the new information only just sinking in. She held up a hand to stop him.  
"So…you changed the price tags??"

"Yes!" he exclaimed, his voice balancing on the edge of annoyance and relief.  
"I conned you, remember? Unfortunately, an original Karinsky isn't worth that much yet."

Caroline looked up and caught his stare, neither of them able to gauge what the other was thinking.  
"But that's not what I was talking about all this time" she explained.  
"I was angry because I thought you'd left with the money and the painting!"

"B-but I never took the painting" he explained superfluously.  
"So….if you don't have it and I don't, then where is it?"

"Hey, what's up, working hard?" Annie greeted cheerfully as she burst into the apartment. She headed straight for the partner desk, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter on her way there. She didn't notice what was going on until she flopped down in Richard's seat and found the two still staring at each other in shock.  
"Hello?" she said with her mouth full, chewing on her apple, "Earth to Caroline and Richard?"

The two looked up at the same time.  
"You'll never guess what we just discovered Annie."  
Caroline slowly sat back down in her chair, Richard still seemed too shocked to move.

"What?" Annie asked nonchalantly, taking another bite from her apple.

"Richard didn't take the painting. He never conned me. Well, not the way I thought anyway. He just changed the price tags."

Now it was Annie's turn to look confused. She pulled a face.

"Yes, I swapped the price tags" Richard explained exasperatedly, "Didn't you notice the John Chang next to it was remarkably cheap?"  
He sat down on a barstool.  
"It was my first exhibition okay? I didn't expect much of it but when I noticed that quite a few people took an interest in my painting, I decided to swap the price tags just to see if someone would pay that much for one of my paintings."

"Well, not just 'someone'" Annie remarked.  
"A whole lot of people were apparently willing to pay that much. God knows why."

"'A lot of people'?" Richard repeated, his head hurting from all the thinking.  
"This is getting more confusing by the minute, could one of you please put me out of my misery and tell me where the heck my painting is??"

"I don't know where your painting is Richard, but I am beginning to believe that we've both been conned" Caroline said thoughtfully, staring out the window.  
"See, you changed the price tags, causing me to pay –well quite a lot- more, so you made a big profit. But when I went to pick up the painting, it wasn't there and there were lots of other people who had bought the same painting. That's what I was angry about, I thought you'd taken off with the money and the painting."

"Aha," Annie nodded, acting like a true Columbo, "So that can only mean one thing. That gallery owner took off with the painting and those other people's money. She conned you both."  
She gave the idea some thought before adding, "Wow, she's good."

"That rat!" Richard exclaimed angrily, balling his hands into fists.  
"She was acting all excited about my first sale and paid me for it, wishing me luck with my career. But in the meantime, she conned lots of other people and used _my_ painting as bait!"

Annie shrugged.  
"Well, you could be flattered, at least it's good bait."

"Annie…" Caroline warned, placing a hand on Richard's shoulder in sympathy.  
"So that's why the insurance only covered a small part of the costs, they estimated the painting's original value."

Richard sighed.  
"Yeah, I'm afraid so. Look Caroline, I'm really sorry for all the money you lost over this…"

Caroline gave a dismissive hand-wave.  
"That's okay, Richard. I know you are. But she's the real con artist here, we have to get her back for what she did to you."

Richard wasn't impressed.  
"Come on, Caroline. What are you going to do? Make fun of her in your comic strip? I have a better idea, I'm going down there."  
He strode over to the door.

Caroline walked after him and placed a hand on his arm to stop him.  
"Richard, I think you should stay here, you're way too upset now. You wouldn't want to do something stupid, right?"

"That's exactly what I'm planning on doing!" he exclaimed angrily. He shrugged her hand off his shoulder and slammed the door on his way out.

---------------------

"Do you think we should call the gallery?" Caroline asked hesitantly. She spun her chair around to look at Annie who was on the couch, leafing through a magazine.

Annie looked up and glanced at her watch. She furrowed her brows.  
"He hasn't been gone _that_ long yet. He'll be back any second."  
She directed her attention back to the magazine and leaned back against armrest of the couch.

"Right" Caroline nodded, unconvinced.  
She reluctantly turned back to her desk and tried to focus on the panel in front of her. All she could think about though was Richard. She didn't understand why it was taking so long. Annoyance changed to worry and she noticed that she cared more than she wanted to admit. What if he'd done something stupid? What if Ms. Greenwood turned out to be more of a criminal than they'd given her credit for?  
She once more drew her attention back to the panel. If she focused on drawing it would at least keep her from going crazy with worry.  
She released her nervousness by tapping her pencil on the desk, in search of inspiration.

Annie threw down the magazine in exasperation.  
"Oh, for God's sake, call the gallery then if it makes you feel better!"

She brought the phone over to her friend and thrust it in her hand.  
Caroline avoided her friend's eyes. She was probably just being silly but she'd feel so much better if she knew what was going on. She dialed the number for the gallery.

"Greenwood Gallery" said a man on the other end of the line.

"Yes, hello, this is Caroline Duffy, I'd like to speak to Ms. Greenwood please?"

"Oh, you just missed her" replied the voice.

"But I'm her assistant, can I help you maybe?"

"Well, I was just wondering if Richard Karinsky is still there?"

"No, he left with Ms. Greenwood, like I said, you just missed them."

Caroline's throat tightened as she processed this new information. She gulped.  
"Well, um…do you know where they were going?"

"No, I'm not sure. I did hear them say something about a painting, simplicity something, I can't remember."

"'Ambiguous Simplicity'??"

"Yeah, yeah that's it. Anything else I can help you with? Hello?…..Hello, Miss?"  
The assistant's voice slowly faded and Caroline's arm dropped from her ear to her lap as she stared ahead, her eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

"What did they say? Caroline?"  
Annie tried to get her attention but Caroline still seemed in utter shock and wasn't responding. The assistant was still calling from the phone in Caroline's lap and Annie took it from her and abruptly hung up.

Annie studied her friend who looked as though she'd seen a ghost. She slowly directed her attention back to Annie.  
"He's gone…"

TBC


	5. chapter 5

Chapter 5

Annie scrunched up her forehead in confusion.  
"What do you mean 'gone'? Come, sit down for a moment, you don't look so good."  
She ushered her friend over to the couch and sat down beside her.

Caroline didn't respond to her friend's concern, she was too consumed with everything that was happening to even listen.  
"He's gone _with_ the painting and guess who else?" she stated dramatically.

"Who?" Annie asked eagerly.

"Ms. Greenwood."

Annie made a face.  
"I don't get it. Why would he go anywhere with her? She conned him!"

Caroline's expression had changed from shock to confusion. She seemed miles away. The wheels in her head were turning almost audibly while she thought about what had happened.  
"I'm beginning to doubt that" she murmured, not looking at Annie.  
"If Ms. Greenwood was the one who took those other people's money, then she must've known about Richard's conning as well."

"Okay, now you lost me" Annie replied, puzzled.

"Think about it. She sold me the painting but by that time, the price tags had already been swapped, so she must've known. If she hadn't known, she would've told me I'd get all of my money back from the insurance company since she'd be under the impression that it was sold for the original amount, the amount the insurance estimated. But she didn't. She told me it got estimated lower"

Annie skeptically arched an eyebrow.  
"So, you're saying they collaborated?"

Caroline finally turned to look at Annie. Her lips pressed together in a thin stripe.  
"That's exactly what I'm saying. I don't get why anyone would do such a thing though. Especially Ms. Greenwood, her gallery has a good name, she's been in the business for years."

Annie shrugged.  
"Greed, maybe? Or maybe because they figured no one would find out anyway because Richard's new to the art world? Think about it: he's poor, he's got nothing to lose and he got the perfect chance to make loads of money with only one painting!"  
She gave the idea some more thought, considering its plausibility.  
"You missed your calling, you know that? You're wasting your talents behind this desk."

"So…what do we do now?" Caroline thought out loud.

"I dunno….find Richard and beat him up?" Annie chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a little, "I get to go first!" she jokingly added.

Caroline looked up, ignoring Annie's attempt at a joke.  
She couldn't believe that Richard had conned her and lied to her, twice!  
This was the man she thought she knew, the man she loved.Tears stung in her eyes but she blinked them back, telling herself that this was all a bad dream and that Richard would walk through her front door any minute with a perfectly reasonable explanation.  
But the minutes ticked by and the doorknob didn't turn…  
Annie noticed her friend's downcast mood and already regretted her casual approach to the situation. She'd always told Caroline she was too naive but no one deserved it when his or her good-heartedness was taken advantage of like this.  
"Now come on, Care, you know none of this is your fault. The guy's obviously a pro. Neither of us noticed anything. Plus, your judgement was a little clouded."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Caroline asked, slightly offended.

"Oh come on, you think I didn't notice? It's been obvious to me since the moment you met him at that gallery that this wasn't 'just' an arrangement to you."

Heat flared through Caroline's cheeks as she realized how obvious her feelings for Richard had been. Her thoughts flashed back to their kiss only a few hours ago and she was unable to stop the whirl of butterflies in her stomach.  
"He kissed me" she blurted out.

Annie's head snapped around in surprise.  
"What? When?"

"This afternoon, just before you came in. We were having this argument because I accused him of not caring about the strip or me."

"Well, at least you now know why…"

Caroline shrugged disappointedly.  
"I guess so. But I blurted out my feelings in the process and then out of the blue he kissed me."

"Wow…" Annie breathed.  
"So, what did you do?"

"I slapped him in the face" Caroline confessed, half-chuckling to lighten the gravity of her action. She deliberately left out the details of the kiss and the fact that she hadn't exactly minded at first. It was pretty pointless to go into that now.

"Really?" Annie shrieked in amazement.  
"I'm not sure what I would've liked to see more; Richie receiving the slap or you getting angry. But you need to get him out of your head and I know just the thing to make you forget all about him: Girls' weekend out! We'll go somewhere where there are lots of cute, single guys who will make you forget all about this con man. "  
She noticed Caroline's reluctance and continued, "C'mon, it'll be good for you!"

Caroline decided not to put up a fight. It was very sweet of her friend to try to take her mind off of things. And she could use some time away from all of this. Annie was probably right, it would be good for her.  
She nodded her approval and Annie jumped up.  
"Okay, great. I'll start packing straight away. Now, you head upstairs and do the same. I'll be back in half an hour or so."  
With that she headed out the door to her own apartment across the hall.

Caroline sighed and dragged herself up from the couch. She slowly climbed the stairs to find the big green suitcase that was stored under her bed. She hauled the heavy thing onto her bed and reluctantly opened her closet to pick out the clothes she wanted to take.

Though she needed some time away, she'd much rather crawl under the covers and sleep for a week. She didn't at all feel like putting on a happy face all weekend and the absolute last thing on her mind were other men.  
She started picking out clothes and tossing them into the suitcase. As she was doing this, she got madder and madder. How could he have conned her out of all that money? She threw some towels in the suitcase and reached for her toothbrush. That too landed with force in the suitcase as she thought about his kiss and how he'd made her believe he was sincere. She threw a pile of clothes in the suitcase, causing some of them to fall on the floor.  
She let herself drop on her bed, breathing heavily. Her breathing was ragged and she tried to calm down by breathing in through her nose and exhaling slowly.  
She listened to the silence, only hearing the sound of her heart that was thumping furiously in her chest. She willed it to slow down, focusing on her breathing. Just then she heard her front door fall in its lock and she jumped up.  
"Annie, the half hour is not up yet, I'm not quite done. Maybe you can help me pack?" she called, then started down the stairs.

"Pack? You're not leaving me are you?" Richard queried jokingly.

She looked up to find him standing at the foot of the stairs, smiling up at her. Her mouth dropped open and she slowly descended the last few steps.  
Her eyes moved to his hands to see what he was holding. He was clutching a large frame to his chest. When he noticed her interest in it, his smile got broader and he turned it around, revealing the colorful image Caroline had loved from the first time she'd seen it.  
"The painting" she breathed, not looking up. She intently studied every color, every curve of paint, trying to convince herself it was the painting she'd bought. But the signature looked real and the colors probably had an even more powerful impact on her than they'd had in the gallery. She looked up at him, his smiling face assuring her that this was his work.  
"What are you doing here?" she asked softly.

He chuckled, oblivious to her amazement.  
"I am still welcome, aren't I? I thought you'd be really happy to see your painting again after all this time."

"My painting" she echoed softly. He handed it to her and studied her with amusement as she took it over to the couch. She seemed mesmerized as she looked at it, tilting her head to study it from different angles.

Richard was flattered that she was so happy with it but she was also acting a little strangely.  
He cleared his throat to get her attention again.  
"Caroline, are you okay? You're acting kind of funny."

She looked up and set the painting down against the cedar chest. Amazement made room for anger once more.  
"No, I'm not okay, Richard. You just disappeared without saying a word!"

"Well…yes. But I didn't know it was such a big deal. I got the painting back after all" he replied, a little taken aback by her outburst.

"I called the gallery. They said you'd left with Ms. Greenwood. How do you explain that?"  
She got up from the couch. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and took a few steps towards him.

He gave a small shrug.  
"I went over there to confront her with what she'd tried to do and how she wanted to make me take the rap for it. She didn't have much to say to that, I don't think I got through to her. But I demanded the painting back and she showed me where it was. So that's where we went."  
He scrunched up his forehead, for the first time noticing her worried expression.  
"Why? What did you think?"

Caroline felt her cheeks grow hot as she realized how quickly she'd jumped to conclusions. She bent her head.  
"I um….thought you'd collaborated and that you and Ms. Greenwood took off together, _with_ the painting."

He burst out laughing.  
"Where ever did you get that idea?"  
He then turned serious.  
"I can't believe you thought I'd do that to you."

"Well, what was I supposed to think?" Caroline retorted defensively.  
"You and Ms. Greenwood were seen leaving together, the painting was gone and with all that confusing stuff that's been going on lately…."

He nodded.  
"I suppose you have a point. I kind of set myself up for it, huh?"

"Kind of, yeah" she agreed meekly.  
"After that price tag thing everything just seemed to point in your direction. I mean, the police couldn't find you since you didn't live at the address you'd given Ms. Greenwood…"

"That's because I couldn't pay my rent. So I got evicted from the dump I'd been living in to move into an ever bigger –or should I say smaller- dump."

Caroline nodded.  
"I know, Ms. Greenwood did everything she could to make you look guilty. What did she say when you confronted her? Did she explain why she did it?"

Richard sighed.  
"No, not really. All she said was that she'd noticed the swapped price tags but didn't feel the need to swap them back. She didn't reply when I asked her why she conned all those people, I guess the profit from the first sale just wasn't enough for her. She wasn't at all impressed when I tried to force her to apologize.  
I demanded that she compensate the other victims though. So I guess the Greenwood gallery really is bankrupt now. It's a pity, I always loved that place. I can't understand why she'd risk all that out of greed. I was probably just an easy target since I'm poor and it was my first exhibition."

"My thoughts exactly" Caroline agreed. "But I came up with another theory, do you want to hear it?" When Richard nodded she continued, "I think she had a thing for you and just couldn't stand it that it wasn't mutual, so this was just a petty way to take revenge."

Richard chuckled.  
"You really think that? Sounds a bit far-fetched."

"Maybe" she said, taking both his hands in hers.  
"We'll never know I guess. But I can certainly understand why it would've frustrated her."

He smiled.  
"We just got off on the wrong foot. If I had just been honest with you from the beginning…"

"Maybe we can start with a clean slate?" she suggested.

"Okay" he agreed.  
"But promise me you'll never doubt me again, I'm crazy about you, you should know that by now."

She smiled and let go of his hands to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.  
"Promise. And I guess I have another thing to apologize for. Our kiss this afternoon didn't exactly end the way it was supposed to."

"Not exactly, no."  
He feigned pain at the memory of the slap she'd given him.

"Sorry" she said softly, pressing a kiss to the cheek she'd slapped.  
"How about we give it another go?"  
She moved her kisses from his cheek to his mouth and kissed him again.  
When they pulled away, she grinned deviously at him.

"What?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I was just thinking… Even though I have the painting back, I still haven't been fully reimbursed. And since you arranged for those other people to get their money back…"

He sighed, wondering when they could finally put all of this behind them.  
"I know, but I don't know what to do about it anymore."

"I do" she smiled, "I guess you'll be working here for a long, long time."

He returned her smile, wrapping his arms more tightly around her.  
"That sounds just perfect."

"Okay Care, I'm ready to go" Annie announced as she kicked open the door, dragging a large suitcase and a small bag with her.  
She turned around and dropped the suitcases in shock when she saw Richard.  
"Whoa! What's going on? Where did he come from all of a sudden?"

Caroline freed herself from Richard's embrace and turned to Annie. She placed an arm around her friend's shoulders. She had quite a few things to explain.  
"Annie about that girls' weekend out….."

****

The End

**__**


End file.
